Yorkshire music blog

Cherry Head Cherry Heart somehow win H2N over with new record Tarred and Feathered

A couple of weeks back , Teeside duo Cherry Head, Cherry Heart released their follow up to “Chihuahua Deluxe”, Tarred and Feathered. If you’ve not come across the band before, they take influence from an eclectic mix of genres spanning decades of musical influences right back to classic 60’s pop artists.

The tracks on the new record range from string section instrumentals on track one right through to classic Western, acoustic style tracks like final track “Here we are again”. What I like about the album is you can’t pin down a genre or a style of music that Andy and Naomi have created. At times I think I’m listening to a modern, indie-pop track that wouldn’t sound out of place on mainstream radio, then I am immediately transported to 1960’s America sitting in my convertible Chevy. Naomi’s voice seems to fit any style of music, any tempo, any instrumental composition and it ensures that Tarred and Feathered has depth in it’s musical sound.

Now admittedly, this isn’t wholly my “cup of tea” so to speak; being an indie/classic rock fanatic, it took more than one listen to be a fan. It didn’t inspire me immediately, nor did it excite me but what I will say, is three weeks on from receiving it, it’s still the CD in my car and for some reason (and no it isn’t my laziness) it hasn’t been taken out by either me or any of the passengers that have been in the car. There must be a reason for that but I really can’t pinpoint it.

Whether it’s the upbeat feel of “Dark Clouds” which I really like or Andy’s vocals on “Bittersweet”, there’s just something that this record has I just can’t place, but it resonates with me, it’s grown on me and I’m so glad I stuck it out. “So Much More” is the record’s highlight, it’s beautifully layered, the duet vocals are stunning and the way in which the song is composed is superb. If anything, what this album has done is made me want to open my eyes to new genres, new sounds and every day I criticise bands for being one dimensional when in reality my blogging is just that. I want to see this duo live; I want to go sing their songs back to them and the fact I feel this way compared to when I first played it probably shows how good it is.

The album is available to buy on iTunes as well as stream on Soundcloud and Spotify.